AN: Is this a turning point? Is this already turning toward the end? Who knows my fellow readers?

— Decisions, Caster (1)—

Whispers of the wind fell upon her ears as she stared down at her feet. Yuuki was standing on top of a puddle of water, although her reflection was clear as day. Ripples continuously formed from her shoes and moved away from the epicenter. Everything else around her was nothing but a white background. She tried calling out to her beloved companions... but to no avail. Not even a single response was heard whether it was by voice or telepathically.

"...H-Hello? Anyone here?" She quietly mumbled as she took a step forward. No response was heard, just her footsteps on water echoed throughout the white canvas.

When did she get here? How did she get here? Why did she appear here? She could not recall. All the poor brunette could remember was being with the three blue-haired males by her side.

She didn't have her equipment by her side—not even her wooden staff was within her grasp. Her breath quickened as she felt anxiety pooling in her stomach. Calming herself with multiple sets of deep breathing routines, she was able to clear her mind a bit.

"Why... am I here?" She questioned aloud. She did not expect a monotonous voice to answer her rhetorical question though. "To prevent the ultimate destruction of London."

The brunette flinched at the echoing voice, snapping her head toward the direction she thought she had heard the voice coming from. "Who are you?!" She declared, though her voice filled with anxiousness.

"I am... Alaya." The name hit her like a truck—the textbook information of such Alaya flooded her mind from when she learned about it during her early times at the Clock Tower. Usually, Alaya is the collective unconscious will of mankind to avoid extinction and is always through indirect means... to which no one knows how they came to be. The same goes with Gaia—the will of the Earth, the planet's intrinsic wish to survive and prosper.

"Why... would the almighty Alaya come in direct contact with someone insignificant... like me?" The brunette spoke, muttering the last part more to herself. "You are... an anomaly. As such, we would normally... dispose of you. However, you have more... profitable qualities than negatives."

Her brows furrowed, not understanding what the collective will of mankind is trying to say. "Having not only one... but three Heroic Spirits without the necessary requirements... you are an anomaly. You are using the spirits... for reformation." As the monotonous tone echoed around her, a darkened silhouette began to form in front of Yuuki.

"Without London... Humanity will soon... cease to exist." The silhouette began to take shape–the form of the only being within the white slate. The only thing was that the outfit they decided to have was more of a dark-colored-theme formal attire.

The brunette's lips tightened as she tried to understand what was happening. "Are you saying... something is going to happen here? Within Clock Tower vicinity?" The world entity gave a firm nod. "Your options... to accept our contract for power in exchange for your life... or to reject our contract and the Heros will be the sacrifice."

Yuuki's ears perked up instantly with the last phrase. "They will be the sacrifice?! I'm not letting that happen! They're too dear to me! And I will not exchange my life for anything!" Silence fell across the white ground as the brunette's fists clenched tightly. "Accept or reject our contract," was all it said as the female tried to comprehend the whole situation. Her eyes constantly wandered in every direction.

"W-What if I say neither??? Am I not able to leave this place?!?!" Yelling at her darkened replication of herself, her labored breathing took over as her eyes defocused from anxiety and confusion. "You will leave soon enough... however, you will forget this interaction... You are currently unconscious."

Yuuki's brow furrowed, massaging her head in the process. "...Me? Unconscious? So... this is a dream of some sort? Is that why I could not sense nor feel the three around me?"

"Indeed... You will recall this... when the time is right." Alaya took a step forward and brought their hand up to her, slightly touching her forehead. "Until then..."

"W-Wait...!"

— — —

The slight noise of a mechanical humming sounded around her. Her face twitched as her tired eyes began to flutter open. A light blue hue surrounded her vision as her eyes squinted from the brightness of the light. "Yuuki..."

The female lightly groaned as she brought her hand up slowly to cover her eyes. Judging by what she was being called, she recognized who it was. "...Caster?" Her orbs tried to concentrate on the figure to the left of her spot. "Yes, it is. Are you alright? Do you recall what occurred before you lost consciousness?"

With Caster's assistance, she was carefully perched up onto the back of the bed frame. Now able to see what was in front of her, she was in her apartment bedroom. Runes were placed throughout the floor as they illuminated the room. "I remember opening a door to the restaurant building... and red lights." Her eyes flashed as she tried to get up, however, the male held her firmly in the sitting position.

"Hold up, Yuuki. You're in no condition to be moving around yet." The druid lightly pushed her back onto the bedframe board, pulling the blanket over her lap. Her brows knitted as the realization hit her–every time she moved her limbs, it felt as if a truck has run over her. No wonder why everything felt heavy. "Caster... What happened to me... to us? How long was I out...?"

The male sat at the edge of the bed, holding her hands tightly as his thumbs rubbed the back of her hands in a circling motion. "A spell was activated when you took a step into the restaurant. All the magic circles were activated simultaneously, causing the entire building to explode. I thought I quickly grabbed you out of the way but the blast took over all of us."

His thumbs pressed firmly onto her hands as he inhaled deeply. "It was a wise choice to activate the shield rune before entering. Whoever the mage was, it caused a crater to appear by the lake. With how popular this place is, it attracted a lot of attention. We had to leave immediately. Proto and Lancer patrolled while I took care of you since you fell unconscious from the blast."

The Celtic druid leaned forward, placing his forehead onto her shoulder as he spoke softly. "Yuuki... Did you feel anything wrong when you were unconscious? Something felt very off—like an unknown spell or aura enveloped you when you were out. I couldn't reach you even with the knowledge I have as a druid. The only thing I could do was reinforce your room with a blockage spell of any kind in hopes of whatever it was to dissipate."

"I..." She began but stopped as if something was missing from her memories. "...don't recall if there was anything unusual. I feel fine; well, besides the heavy feeling with all my muscles that is." The brunette softly chuckled; eventually, she repeated her question from earlier. "How long was I out, my Celtic magus?"

He glanced up, allowing her to fully see his complexion. Dark rings appeared under his eyes and he seemed... thinner? The woman sensed that the magic energy from just Caster was very low compared to the usual. It's as if... he was close to vanishing right then and there. "Five days... It's been five days since then."

She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath to stop her mind from racing through a million questions. "...What about the report I had to complete for Lord El-Melloi II?"

Caster scoffed as he joined in and leaned by into the headboard of the bed. "That's been done and submitted to him. It was a pain to get into the Clock Tower without being obvious, so I had to alter my appearance as well as your mana signature to even get in safe." Cú sighed, his hand rose and fell upon her head as he gave her a head pat.

"The moment he felt a disturbance, he was definitely yelling at me. All three of us explained what occurred and the look on his face—despite the situation—was priceless! I have never seen such a stuck-up idiot lose so much color from his skin; it was quite a show." A bellowing laugh escaped the Celtic before continuing his words. "Luckily–and unluckily–I had to complete the report on your behalf to make it as if you were perfectly fine. Having him up my ass to make sure the wording was correct was quite aggravating."

This earned a chuckle from the female as well as her leaning into his shoulder. "While that was going on, both Proto and Lancer went to investigate the ordeal. We all kept in check to make sure you were alright every so often. Speaking of, they're not aware of your wakefulness as the runes block off most—and I do mean most—magic."

Hearing him speak so much was abnormal but it felt rejuvenating to her ears. Maybe it was the exhaustion that took over her, so hearing him felt very comforting. "What about... the current situation, Caster?" The Celtic's brows furrowed at the lack of context.

"I mean... I can sense your spiritual form being much weaker than a week ago. Was that... is it my fault? For being cut off suddenly from all of you?" He only chuckled, pulling her close to his chest as he hugged the fragile female.

"Don't be silly, Yuuki. You are not entirely at fault. We decided to cut most of our mana consumption from you. Mana is just as important as your life... Especially since they are three of us leeching off of you in a way." As if on cue, a light bulb lit up in his mind.

"Speaking of leeching..." He deeply breathed out as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "There is also something you need to see as well. This was way out of our caliber and I suspect it is about our special connection."

She glanced up at him, her head tilted questioning him. "Do explain, my druid." Groaning, he only shook his head. "It's best for you to see it—or say, he—for yourself."

He stood up, pushing the blanket away from her lap, and held his hand out. Accepting the hand, she eventually stood up with his help and proceeded to walk carefully toward the door. The door creaked as it opened, allowing her to see her apartment once more after the lack of attention she had within her home.

The moment she stepped out of the room, a sense of guilt and relief hit both Lancer and Proto, causing them to return quickly to the apartment. Materializing in front of the awoken female, their eyes were filled with worry as the female adult smiled at their return.

"Don't you know how worried we were, princess?" Lancer's voice slightly trembled as he exhaled. He held her left hand, placing a chaste kiss on the back. "You really gave us a scare."

"Are you sure you're feeling okay to leave your room? Caster purposely made those runes to keep you safe..." Proto feared it was far too early for her to leave the premise of safety. "I would be quite bored out of my mind if I stayed in my room without anything to distract me, my prime knight."

She reached out to his cheek and held his face endearingly as she lightly grinned. "I am fine, Proto." She turned to glance at all of them. "Thank you for caring for me... I apologize for the inconvenience."

"You are never an inconvenience, Yuu. We are merely glad that you are now well. It has been hectic since you were unconscious." The young lance beamed as he waved his hand toward the living room. "Come over so we can prepare you a meal."

She nodded her head, thanking him as she was led to the couch to sit. "I appreciate that, Proto. Thank you." Agreeing with this, Proto scurried into the kitchen to prepare something for her. His grin has never been that large since his time with her full family around.

"Now... I assume Lancer and Proto are aware as well, Caster?" The older melee Celtic's brow rose as she questioned. "Yes, in fact... Lancer was the one that was able to calm them down, briefly only."

Hearing the conversation, the rattail lancer groaned as he realized the message. "Right... That. You told the princess about it already?" The druid agreed. "She has the right to know as they appeared during the whole ordeal."

"They?" She repeated the word, not understanding the problem at hand. "Ugh... One moment, princess. It'll be a moment." Lancer stepped away and went into the other rooms the crew occupied. A few moments later, he returned with a small creature hanging from his hand—as if he was grossed out by it.

The female frowned in immense confusion as she stared at the creature—a small creature at maybe 2 feet tall, very spiky with a dark-color-themed outfit, and somehow looks a bit like all of them. The thing that confused her was that the critter had a darker skin tone and they looked more... Like a cartoon than anything. It had a large spiky tail and had a scowl on their face.

"Just because I am small... That does not mean you can manhandle me like a goddamn toy, you useless spearman." With the small weapon it had in their hand, they stabbed Lancer on the hand causing him to flinch at the pain and let go. The small creature jumped onto the living room table and stared up at the female.

'Ah, the creature spoke.'